Electronic tag beacon

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer program products for communicating information to a mobile device in response to the mobile device receiving a beacon signal from an electronic tag. The electronic tag includes a near-field communication module configured to transmit a near-field beacon signal encoded with a universally unique identifier. The near field communication module may transmit the near-field beacon signal periodically or in response to the electronic tag receiving an interrogation signal from the mobile device. In response to receiving the near-field beacon signal, the mobile device queries a database using the universally unique identifier encoded in the beacon signal. In response to receiving the query, the database searches for data associated with the universally unique identifier and transmits the data to the mobile device for display to the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/490,179, filed Apr. 26, 2017, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to electronic tags and, in particular,to methods, systems, and computer program products for providing data toa mobile device based on its proximity to a specific electronic tag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Retail stores often use printed labels or tags affixed to a shelf toprovide information to shoppers, such as the price of the products onthe shelf. One disadvantage of printed tags is that they must bereplaced each time the information regarding the product is updated. Theneed to replace shelf tags can be relatively frequent, for example, dueto changes in the price of the products. To address this problem, storeshave begun replacing printed tags with electronic tags. Electronic tagsinclude an electronic display and an internal memory that storesinformation about the product. In addition, electronic tags ofteninclude near-field communication (NFC) module. The NFC module enablesthe electronic tag to provide a shopper with additional informationstored in the tag's memory in response to the shopper touching theirmobile device to the tag. The NFC module may also be used to enable anemployee of the store to update data on the electronic tag using, forexample, an NFC scanning device.

To update the information stored on the electronic tags, data must betransmitted to the particular tag in question. Because NFC is limited toa very short range, updating electronic tags using NFC requires theemployee to visit each tag. To speed the updating process, electronictags may include another communication device for the purpose ofreceiving updated information. To update the information stored on thesetypes of electronic tags, the updated information is transmitted from agateway that communicates with the electronic tags over a Low-RateWireless Personal Area Network (LR-WPAN). However, this type of updatingis also subject to certain problems.

For example, to reduce power consumption in the electronic tag andprolong battery life, the LR-WPAN receiver in the electronic tagtypically remains in a sleep mode for the majority of the time, and onlywakes up occasionally to check for transmissions from the gateway. Thiscan lead to delays in updating the information stored on the electronictag, especially if the wake up time fails to coincide with thetransmission of data from the gateway. In addition, if more than oneelectronic tag is being used to provide information on the same product,displayed information may become inconsistent between the tags in thelikely event that the tags wake up at different times. Moreover, if theelectronic tag is located in a dead zone, or otherwise shielded from theLR-WPAN signals, it may fail to receive the updated informationaltogether. This can lead to electronic tags that provide out of dateinformation to mobile devices that query the tag using NFC.

Thus, improved systems, methods, and computer program products forproviding information to a mobile device in response to NFC queries ofelectronic tags are needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of the invention, an electronic tag is provided thatincludes a near-field communication module configured to transmit anear-field beacon signal including a universally unique identifier. Inan aspect of the invention, the near field communication module maytransmit the near-field beacon signal periodically or in response to theelectronic tag receiving an interrogation signal from a mobile device.In response to receiving the near-field beacon signal, the mobile devicemay query a database for information associated with the universallyunique identifier. By storing information in a database rather thanlocally in the electronic tag, embodiments of the invention may enableimproved control over the information provided to a mobile device inresponse to the mobile device interrogating the electronic tag ascompared to conventional electronic tags.

The above summary may present a simplified overview of some embodimentsof the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of certainaspects the invention discussed herein. The summary is not intended toprovide an extensive overview of the invention, nor is it intended toidentify any key or critical elements, or delineate the scope of theinvention. The sole purpose of the summary is merely to present someconcepts in a simplified form as an introduction to the detaileddescription presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various embodiments of theinvention and, together with the general description of the inventiongiven above, and the detailed description of the embodiments givenbelow, serve to explain the embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a system including a plurality ofintelligent fixtures that interact with a mobile computing device.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the intelligent fixture of FIG. 1including a transceiver and a light fixture powered by a dedicated powersource.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the intelligent fixture of FIG. 1 in analternative embodiment of the invention showing an antenna array and aplurality of sensors.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one type of antenna that maybe employed in the intelligent fixture of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a plurality of beacons thatemploy the antenna of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an antenna having adirectional radiation pattern.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a plurality of intelligentfixtures that each include the directional antenna of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an intelligent fixtureincluding the omni-directional antenna of FIG. 4 and the directionalantenna of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a process for determining thelocation of a mobile device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for communicating with amobile device to provide location information relating to the mobiledevice to one or more intelligent fixtures.

FIGS. 11A and 11B provide a flow chart illustrating a process forcontrolling a system that includes a mobile device and one or moreintelligent fixtures.

FIG. 12 a diagrammatic view of an exemplary computing system that may beused to implement embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process for retrieving informationfrom a database based on a UUID embedded in the beacon signal.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a smart object ecosystem includingelectronic tags, a mobile device, and an intelligent fixture.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic view depicting additional details of theelectronic tags and the smart object ecosystem of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a process for installing a mobileapplication on the mobile device and retrieving information from adatabase based on a UUID embedded in a beacon signal transmitted by theelectronic tag of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process for identifying andtransmitting data to the mobile device based on the UUID embedded in thebeacon signal transmitted by the electronic tag of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention provide systems, methods, and computerprogram products for accurately determining a location of a mobiledevice, and for communicating location-specific information to themobile device. The disclosed embodiments may also provide for efficientindoor positioning, customer tracking, proximity marketing, lightingcontrol, and building management.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary operating environment 100 in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. The operating environment 100 includes amobile device 102, which may be carried by a person 104, and a pluralityof intelligent fixtures 106-113. Each of the intelligent fixtures106-113 may include one or more beacons that transmit beacon signals atcertain intervals so as to provide an anchor node for a positioningsystem. These signals may in turn be received by the mobile device 102.The operating environment 100 may also include additional fixtures 114that do not necessarily include all of the features of the intelligentfixtures 106-113. In an embodiment of the invention, the fixtures106-114 may comprise light fixtures, e.g., a 2 by 2 LED Troffer lightfixture.

The mobile device 102 may be a smart phone, tablet computer, or otherportable computing device. The beacon may comprise a Bluetooth™ beacon.Bluetooth beacons and chipsets may be obtained from Estimote, Inc. ofNew York City, Kontakt.io, Inc. of New York City, Silicon Labs ofAustin, Tex., or Nordic Semiconductor ASA of Oslo, Norway, for example.Bluetooth beacon signals may be received by the mobile device 102 whenthe mobile device 102 is in close proximity to the beacon. According toan embodiment of the invention, the beacon may operate using Bluetooth™low-energy (BLE) technology. Compared to regular Bluetooth technology,BLE consumes less power, has a shorter range, and transmits less data.Thus, BLE is designed for periodic transfers of relatively small amountsof data as compared to Bluetooth.

Intelligent fixture 106 may transmit advertising packets that arereceived by the mobile device 102. The advertising packets may beformatted according to a protocol that includes an identifier unique tothe transmitting beacon. One such protocol is the iBeacon protocol,which is an implementation of BLE technology available from Apple, Inc.of Cupertino Calif. Advertising packets using the iBeacon protocol mayinclude a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), Major and Minorparameters, and a TX power parameter. The Major parameter may be a 2byte string used to identify a subset of beacons within a larger group,and the Minor parameter may be a 2 byte string that identifiesindividual beacons within the subset.

The TX power parameter may indicate the power at which the signal istransmitted by the beacon. The measured power received by the mobiledevice 102 may be quantified by a parameter called a Received SignalStrength Indicator (RSSI). RSSI is a measurement of the power present ina received radio signal. RSSI depends at least in part on thetransmitted power of the received signal and the distance between theintelligent fixture 106 and the mobile device 102. The mobile device 102may determine an estimated distance to the intelligent fixture 106 bycomparing the RSSI with the transmitted power indicated by the TX powerparameter to determine a relative signal strength or path loss.

Generally, the transmission range of a beacon may be adjusted todifferent levels each corresponding to a different value of the TX powerparameter. For example, in a typical operating environment, a beacontransmission power of −30 dBm may result in an RSSI of roughly −115 dBmat a distance of one meter. A beacon transmitting at this power levelmay have a range of roughly 2 meters. In a further example, a beacontransmitting at a power of −20 dBm may result in an RSSI of roughly −105dBm at a distance of one meter. A beacon transmitting at this powerlevel may have a range of roughly 4 meters. In general, beaconstransmitted at higher power levels can be received at a greater range.Thus, beacons transmitting at −16 dBm, −12 dBm, and −8 dBm may haveranges of roughly 10, 20, and 30 meters, respectively.

The mobile device 102 may determine location specific information basedon one or more of the received UUID, Major parameter, Minor parameter,and TX power parameter. For example, the UUID, Major parameter, andMinor parameter may be used to uniquely identify a particulartransmitting beacon. Thus, the physical location of the beacon may bedetermined by the mobile device 102 based on the UUID, Major parameter,and Minor parameter. To this end, location information associated with agroup of beacons may be stored in a lookup table or database in themobile device 102. The information in the lookup table may be indexed bythe UUID, Major parameter, and Minor parameter. The location informationmay also be stored on a server or “in the cloud”, and may be accessibleto the mobile device 102 over a network.

In another embodiment, the beacon may transmit advertising packets thatare formatted according to the Eddystone protocol, which is availablefrom Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. Packets using the Eddystoneprotocol may include the Eddystone-UID, Eddystone-URL, Eddystone-TLM,and Eddystone-EID parameters. The Eddystone-UID contains a static uniqueidentifier for the beacon, which may be similar to the UUID, Majorparameter, and Minor parameter of the iBeacon protocol. TheEddystone-URL is a compressed Universal Record Locator (URL) that, onceparsed and decompressed, may be directly usable by the mobile device102. For example, the mobile device 102 may communicate with a server onthe cloud to retrieve information based on the Eddystone-URL. TheEddystone-TLM parameter may provide telemetry data that indicates aninternal state of the beacon. For example, the Eddystone-TLM may includeinformation regarding a battery voltage of the beacon, a temperature ofthe beacon, a number of advertising frames sent by the beacon, and timesince the beacon was last rebooted.

The Eddystone-EID (Ephemeral Identifier) is an identifier that changesevery few minutes. The Eddystone-EID may be used to improve security byhelping to prevent spoofing, malicious asset tracking, replay attacks,and other forms of impermissible access. The Eddystone-EID can beresolved to give useful information by using a service (such as theGoogle Proximity Beacon API) that shares a key with the individualbeacon.

In another embodiment, the beacon may transmit advertising packets thatare formatted according to the AltBeacon™ protocol, which is availablefrom Radius Networks of Washington, D.C. The AltBeacon protocol allowsfor application-specific, rather than company-specific, UUIDs. AltBeaconis an open source beacon protocol that was designed to overcome issuesassociated with protocols that favor one vendor over another.

The above description illustrates a number of ways in which theintelligent fixture 106 may provide uni-direction communication to themobile device 102 through the use of beacons. However, it should beunderstood that the above described beacons are for exemplary purposesonly, and other suitable beacon protocols may be used. Thus, embodimentsof the invention are not limited to the above described beaconprotocols.

The mobile device 102 may use information obtained from the intelligentfixture 106 via the beacon signal to determine or retrieve locationspecific information. For example, in a retail environment, theintelligent fixture 106 may provide information relevant to itemsdisplayed near the intelligent fixture 106. A product displayed in thevicinity of the intelligent fixture 106 may have an associated coupon orother related discount or promotional program. The mobile device 102 mayuse information obtained from the intelligent fixture 106 to retrieve acoupon associated with the related product. By way of example, themobile device 102 may use information obtained from the intelligentfixture 106 in a museum to retrieve additional content related to museumpieces displayed near the intelligent fixture 106. The mobile device 102may also be used to update inventory information for a store, warehouse,hospital, etc., based on signals received from one or more intelligentfixtures 106.

In addition to providing uni-direction communication to the mobiledevice 102 through the use of beacons, the intelligent fixture 106 mayfurther transmit a communication signal to the mobile device 102 andreceive corresponding communication signals from the mobile device 102in order to establish bi-directional communication. To this end, theintelligent fixture 106 may provide bi-directional communicationaccording the Bluetooth Smart™ protocol, which the mobile device 102 mayuse to receive signals from and transmit signals to the intelligentfixture 106.

Bluetooth Smart and Bluetooth Smart Ready devices may operate accordingto the Bluetooth 4.0 standard (and later versions). These versions ofBluetooth address problems associated with previous versions ofBluetooth related to battery drain and the need to constantly pair andre-pair connected devices, and do not rely on a constant stream ofinformation being transferred between paired devices. Rather, theseversions of Bluetooth allow paired devices to communicate intermittentlyand the connection to sleep during periods of non-use. This may reduceenergy consumption so that battery operated devices run longer beforerequiring charging. With previous versions of Bluetooth, it wasadvisable to shut off hardware that was not in use. Starting withBluetooth 4.0, some devices may run for 1 and 2 years on battery power,according to estimates from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.

Bluetooth Smart Ready devices may be devices such as smart phones,notebooks, and tablet computers that can receive and share Bluetoothsignals from external devices such as speakers, headphones, varioussensors, etc. Such peripheral devices may connect with and exchangeinformation with Bluetooth Smart Ready devices according to theBluetooth Smart protocol.

In some instances, the mobile device 102 and intelligent fixture 106 mayuse different protocols. For example, the mobile device 102 maycommunicate with the intelligent fixture 106 according to the BluetoothSmart Ready protocol, while the intelligent fixture 106 may communicatewith the mobile device 102 according to the Bluetooth Smart protocol. Infurther embodiments, other protocols may be used instead of, or inaddition to, Bluetooth Smart for communication between the intelligentfixture 106 and the mobile device 102, and/or between intelligentfixtures. By way of example, suitable communication protocols commonlyreferred to as “Wi-Fi” that are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard may beused for communication.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the plurality of intelligentfixtures 106-113 may be positioned within an environment that may beencountered by a mobile device 102. The intelligent fixtures 106-113 maybe located in an indoor environment such as a store or warehouse. Theperson 104 carrying the mobile device 102 may move through theenvironment along a path 116. As the person moves along the path 116,they may bring the mobile device 102 within proximity of one or more ofthe intelligent fixtures 106-113. For example, a person moving alongpath 116 may first encounter intelligent fixture 106. The mobile device102 may receive signals from the intelligent fixture 106 in auni-directional manner, or communicate with the intelligent fixture 106in a bi-directional manner, and may receive location dependentinformation from or through the intelligent fixture 106.

As the person 104 moves along the path 116, they may further come withinclose proximity of intelligent fixture 107. In response to coming withinclose proximity of intelligent fixture 107, the mobile device 102 maycommunicate with the intelligent fixture 107 and receive locationdependent information from or through the intelligent fixture 107 in asimilar manner as described above with respect to intelligent fixture106. The mobile device 102 may determine location dependent informationbased on signals received from intelligent fixtures 106 and 107. Forexample, the mobile device 102 may determine an RSSI of the signalreceived from intelligent fixture 106 and an RS SI of the signalreceived from intelligent fixture 107. The mobile device 102 may thendetermine an approximate distance from intelligent fixture 106 based onthe RSSI of the signal received from intelligent fixture 106, and anapproximate distance from intelligent fixture 107 based on the RSSI ofthe signal received from intelligent fixture 107. The mobile device 102may thereby determine an approximate location relative to intelligentfixtures 106 and 107 based on the respective RSSI values of theassociated signals.

As the mobile device 102 is moved further along the path 116, the mobiledevice 102 may come within close proximity of intelligent fixture 108,intelligent fixture 109, and intelligent fixture 110. With eachencounter, the mobile device 102 may determine its location relative tothe respective intelligent fixture. In further embodiments, informationrelated to a time dependent location of the mobile device 102 may bedetermined by one or more of the intelligent fixtures. For example,suppose at one time the mobile device 102 is at a position 118 along thepath 116. At position 118, the mobile device 102 may be sufficientlyclose to two or more intelligent fixtures (e.g., intelligent fixtures108-110) to receive corresponding signals from each of the intelligentfixtures. In the above example, the mobile device 102 may determine RSSI values associated with signals received from each of the respectiveintelligent fixtures 108-110. From the determined RSSI values, themobile device 102 may determine its approximate location relative to theintelligent fixtures 108-110 using multilateration (e.g.,trilateration).

In an alternative embodiment, one or more intelligent fixtures maydetermine RSSI values associated with signals received from the mobiledevice 102. For example, intelligent fixtures 108-110 may each receive asignal from the mobile device 102. One or more of the intelligentfixtures 108-110 may, in turn, compute an approximate location of themobile device 102 based on corresponding RSSI values received byintelligent fixtures 108-110.

A person 104 carrying the mobile device 102 may move through theoperating environment 100 along a path other than path 116 so that themobile device 102 comes into close proximity with other intelligentfixtures. For example, mobile device 102 may first encounter intelligentfixture 106 (as before), but then move along path 126, therebyencountering intelligent fixture 112, followed by intelligent fixtures111 and 113. As described above, location information may be determinedby the mobile device based on RSSI values of signals received fromcorresponding intelligent fixtures 106, 111-113. Similarly as describedabove for path 116, one or more of the intelligent fixtures 106, 111-113may determine location information related to the mobile device 102based on RSSI values of signals received from the mobile device 102 asthe mobile device 102 moves along path 126.

In the above examples, location information may be determined by eitherthe mobile device 102 or one or more of the intelligent fixtures 106-113based on RSSI values of received signals. Location information may alsobe determined by taking into account known location values of theintelligent fixtures 106-113 based on data encoded within the signalstransmitted by the intelligent fixtures 106-113. For example, one ormore intelligent fixtures 106-113 may transmit a unique identifier thatmay be used to determine location information.

By way of example, in a retail store setting, intelligent fixture 106may be associated with particular products located near the intelligentfixture 106. Intelligent fixture 106 may transmit a UUID that can beused by the mobile device to receive location dependent information froma database. When the mobile device 102 receives the UUID fromintelligent fixture 106, the mobile device 102 may use the UUID toretrieve associated information from the database. For example, the UUIDmay be used by the mobile device 102 to retrieve a coupon for a relatedproduct that is on display near the intelligent fixture 106. In amuseum, the received UUID may be used by the mobile device 102 toretrieve related content associated with pieces displayed near theintelligent fixture 106. In a warehouse setting, the received UUID maybe used to determine and update inventory information for goods storedin the warehouse.

In further examples, the mobile device 102 may communicate with one ormore of the intelligent fixtures 106-113 in order to commission orconfigure the intelligent fixtures 106-113 and/or other systems incommunication with the intelligent fixtures 106-113. For example, afterinstallation of the intelligent fixtures 106-113, a process may beimplemented in which information is transmitted from the mobile device102 to one or more of the intelligent fixtures 106-113. Informationassociated with the intelligent fixtures 106-113 may also be updatedperiodically in this manner.

In a retail setting, various product displays may be changed from timeto time. Thus, it may be advantageous to change the informationassociated with one or more of the intelligent fixtures 106-113. To thisend, the information encoded on the intelligent fixtures 106-113, or alocation associated with the encoded information by a lookup table ordatabase, may be changed to reflect positional changes and/or changesassociated with updated product placement. In order to reconfigure theintelligent fixtures 106-113, a process may be used in which informationis communicated between the mobile device 102 and one or more of theintelligent fixtures 106-113. For example, the mobile device 102 maycommunicate individually with each of the intelligent fixtures 106-113to provide updated information corresponding to the respective fixture.

The intelligent fixtures 106-113 may also be configured as a networkwith one or more of the intelligent fixtures acting as a controller forthe network. For example, intelligent fixture 106 may act as acontroller for a network including intelligent fixtures 106-113. In thisexample, the mobile device 102 may communicate information to thecontroller intelligent fixture 106, which may in turn communicate withthe rest of the intelligent fixtures 107-113 in the network.

Conventional beacons generally operate on battery power. As such, theymay suffer from limitations associated with the need to conserve batterypower. One such constraint is that battery powered beacons may transmitinfrequently due to power constraints. This infrequent transmission ofbeacon signals may lead to “dead spots” and low “time on”characteristics. Infrequent transmission of beacon signals may alsoincrease latency, which can result in the mobile device 102 failing toproperly receive information from the beacon due to motion of the mobiledevice. In order to overcome these problems, embodiments of theinvention may power the beacons using a dedicated power source.

FIG. 2 depicts an intelligent fixture 200 including a transmitter 202, areceiver 204, a control circuit 206, and a light source or light fixture208 that are powered by a dedicated power source 210. In an embodimentof the invention, the transmitter 202 and receiver 204 may comprise atransceiver 212. The transceiver 212 may be coupled to the light fixture208, and the light fixture 208 may be coupled to the dedicated powersource 210. The dedicated power source 210 may provide electrical powerto both the light fixture 208 and the transceiver 212. Advantageously,powering the transceiver 212 using the dedicated power source 210 usedto power the light fixture 208 rather than a battery may enableembodiments of the present invention to avoid the problems of batterypowered beacons described above. Using the dedicated power source 210may enable the transceiver 212 to transmit and receive signals at a highrate, thereby reducing problems such as latency and dead spots ascompared to beacons lacking this feature.

The control circuit 206 may be coupled to the transceiver 212 and to thelight fixture 208. The control circuit 206 may have one or moreprocessors and be configured to control the light fixture based onsignals received by the transceiver 212. Processors for use in thecontrol circuit 206 may be obtained from Nordic Semiconductor, SiliconLabs, NXP Semiconductors N.V. of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, TexasInstruments of Dallas, Tex., and STMicroelectronics of Geneva,Switzerland, for example.

The transceiver 212 may receive a signal from the mobile device 102, andbased on the received signal, the control circuit 206 may turn the lightfixture 208 on or off. The control circuit 206 may also be configured tochange the brightness and/or the color spectrum of light emitted by thelight fixture 208.

Intelligent fixture 200 may provide several advantages over conventionalsystems in applications related to lighting control. For example, aplurality of intelligent fixtures 200 may be employed in a retail storesetting such as illustrated in FIG. 1. Considerable energy savings maybe achieved if light fixtures associated with the intelligent fixtures106-113 are controlled based on the proximity of a customer (e.g.,person 104) carrying a mobile device 102. This could allow areas of astore where intelligent fixtures are not in close proximity to themobile device 102 to be kept dim or turned off due to a lack ofcustomers. Similarly, intelligent fixtures 106-110 along a customer'spath 116 through the store may cause their corresponding light fixturesto be lit in response to the customer moving the mobile device 102 alongpath 116. Likewise, light fixtures associated with intelligent fixtures106 and 111-113 may be lit as the customer moves along path 126.

Embodiments of the invention may be advantageous for various lightingmanagement applications, such as controlling lighting characteristics ina hospital setting. For example, light fixtures in a patient's room maybe configured to emit light in a first mode having a given brightnessand color spectrum while the patient is awake, and the light may bechosen to have a warm color spectrum (i.e., a low Correlated ColorTemperature (CCT)) and a dim brightness setting while a patient issleeping. In response to a health care practitioner entering the room(e.g. to check the patient's vital signs or to manage operation ofvarious pieces of equipment), the intelligent fixture 200 may change thelight settings to have a different value of brightness and/or colorspectrum. Using systems according to the disclosed embodiments, thelighting characteristics may be changed automatically when a health carepractitioner enters the room in response to the intelligent fixture 200recognizing the mobile device 102 carried by the practitioner.

Multiple lighting settings may be defined and may be activated based oninformation conveyed by the mobile device. For example, hospital staffperforming one type of function (e.g., general maintenance of hospitalequipment) may activate a lighting characteristic specific to thatfunction. Similarly, a nurse or doctor entering the room to perform ahealth care related function may activate a different lightingcharacteristic based on information conveyed by their specific mobiledevice.

Embodiments of the invention may be integrated with other sensors toprovide further functionality. For example, the intelligent fixture 200may include, or otherwise be in communication with, temperature sensors,humidity sensors, and motion sensors. These types of sensors may beobtained from Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass., MicrochipTechnology of Chandler, Ariz., Intersil Corporation of Milpitas, Calif.,On Semiconductor of Phoenix, Ariz., or ams AG of Styria, Austria, orexample.

One use of the sensors may be to determine the presence or absence of aperson in a room. In response to a person leaving a room for apredetermined time, the intelligent fixture 200 may reduce or turn offlights. Motion detection sensors may thereby allow for more efficientlighting control. Temperature and humidity sensors may also be used withthe intelligent fixture 200 to enable more efficient building managementby providing location specific information to the building HeatingVentilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system. HVAC control may also beused in conjunction with information regarding the presence or absenceof persons in rooms to adjust the temperature in rooms based onoccupancy.

Further applications of the invention may include positioning andtracking of vehicles (e.g., forklifts) as well as efficient area andpathway lighting in warehouses or other storage facilities. A mobiledevice coupled with a network of intelligent fixtures may improveefficiency of inventory tracking, enable tracking of staff and visitorsin hospitals, and enable efficient “way-finding” for customers in largeunfamiliar buildings. For example, a person may be conveniently andefficiently guided along a path to a desired destination in an airportthrough interaction between their mobile device and a plurality ofintelligent fixtures. That is, a customer may be guided along path 116or 126 to an airport gate based on interaction with intelligent fixtures106-110 in one case, and by interaction with intelligent fixtures 106,and 111-113 in the other case.

Embodiments of the invention may also be employed in outdoorenvironments, such as in automobile service stations. Outdoor lightingfixtures may be controlled to change their color or brightness due tothe presence or absence of a customer carrying an appropriatelyconfigured mobile device. Further, as in the above-discussed retailapplications, various marketing and promotional offers may be providedto a customer through interaction of the mobile device with one or moreintelligent fixtures.

Embodiments of the invention may also be employed to provide efficientcontrol of outdoor pathway light fixtures. As with the above indoorlighting examples, outdoor path lighting may be controlled to changebrightness and/or color depending on the presence, absence, or motion ofan appropriately configured mobile device through an area in whichintelligent fixtures are deployed. As with the above-described indoorsystems, the mobile device may interact individually with variousdeployed intelligent fixtures that operate separately from one another,or the mobile device may interact with an intelligent fixture thatoperates as a control device for a plurality of intelligent fixturesconfigured to operate as a network.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an intelligent fixture 300 consistentwith an embodiment of the invention. The intelligent fixture 300includes a light fixture 302, such as a light fixture from LSIIndustries, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio. The light fixture 302 is coupledto a dedicated power supply 304 which supplies a predetermined inputvoltage to the light fixture 302, such as 120 or 240 volt AlternatingCurrent (AC) from the power grid. The intelligent fixture 300 furtherincludes a control circuit 306 having an integrated transceiver that isselectively coupled to one or more antennas, such as antenna 308. Theantenna 308 may include a plurality of antennas that function as anantenna array. The control circuit 306 may include a microcontrollerconfigured to receive and transmit information according to theBluetooth Smart™ protocol using the antenna 308. The intelligent fixture300 may further include a power distribution circuit 310 that providespower to other circuits within the intelligent fixture 300 in the formof one or more Direct Current (DC) voltages. The intelligent fixture 300may further include a light fixture control circuit 312 and acommunication circuit 314 that controls the light fixture 302. Circuits312 and 314 may be configured, for example, to control the output (e.g.,color spectrum and brightness) of the light fixture 302.

The intelligent fixture 300 may also include one or more of a lightsensor circuit 316 configured to measure color and/or brightness (i.e.,intensity) of ambient light, a temperature and humidity circuit 318, aWi-Fi transceiver circuit 320, a Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuit322, a motion detection circuit 324, and a Human Machine Interface (HMI)vision circuit. The light sensor, humidity, and motion detectioncircuits may be obtained from Analog Devices, Microchip Technology,Intersil, On Semiconductor, or ams AG; the Wi-Fi transceiver circuit maybe obtained from Microchip Technology; the NFC circuit may be obtainedfrom Nordic Semiconductor ASA; and the HMI vision circuit may beobtained from OmniVision Technologies Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., forexample. The NFC circuit 322 may enable the exchange of informationbetween mobile devices and the intelligent fixture 300 using near fieldtechnology. The motion detection circuit 324 may be configured to detectmotion, and the HMI vision circuit 326 may include input and outputdevices for interaction with a user, as well as a camera or othercircuitry for machine vision.

FIG. 4 illustrates one type of antenna 400 that may be used in anembodiment of the invention. Antenna 400 has a radiation pattern 402that is uniformly distributed symmetrically in a horizontal plane 404bisecting the antenna 400, which is referred to as an omni-directionalradiation pattern. Antenna 400 radiates a generally equal amount ofpower in all horizontal directions, with decreasing intensity away fromthe horizontal plane 404. The radiation pattern of antenna 400 in threedimensions may have a toroidal shape that is symmetric about the axis406 of antenna 400. This type of radiation pattern may be provided by avertically oriented monopole or dipole antenna, for example. Antennaswith radiation patterns that are symmetrical in a plane of interest(e.g., the horizontal plane) are commonly referred to asomni-directional antennas to reflect that the antenna radiates in alldirections symmetrically with respect to the axis 406 of the antenna400. In an embodiment of the invention, antenna 400 may comprise a patchantenna, which is a type of low-profile antenna that can be defined on acircuit board.

FIG. 5 illustrates a network 500 of beacons that employ omni-directionalantennas, such as the antenna of FIG. 4. In this network 500, a mobiledevice 502 may receive signals from multiple (e.g., two) antennas 504,506. This situation may result because the radiation patterns 508, 510produced by the antennas 504, 506 overlap. Overlapping radiationpatterns from multiple beacons may make determining location difficult.For example, in proximity marketing applications using beacons, it isoften desirable for a mobile device to receive signals from a singlebeacon that is closest to the device to avoid confusion. A customerstanding next to product A generally wants to receive information onlyrelated to product A and not from product B that may be across thestore.

FIG. 6 illustrates an antenna 600 having a directional radiation pattern602. The directional radiation pattern 602 may be confined to alocalized region bounded by a three-dimensional cone 604 or other shape.An intelligent fixture having a directional antenna 600 oriented in agenerally downward direction may be deployed in an overhead location(e.g., on the ceiling) of an enclosed space, such as in a store orwarehouse. This type of deployment may produce a well defined coveragearea 606 below the intelligent fixture where the beacon signaltransmitted by the fixture dominates the signals transmitted by adjacentfixtures. This coverage area 606 may enable a mobile device to moreaccurately determine its location due to a reduced amount of overlapbetween the coverage areas produced by the directional radiationpatterns of other intelligent fixtures.

An omni-directional antenna may be modified to operate as a directionalantenna, for example, by positioning a directing element (e.g., adielectric lens) or a reflecting element (e.g., a conductive metalelement) in proximity to the radiating element of what would otherwisebe an omni-directional antenna. An antenna or “antenna array” comprisinga plurality of elements configured to be selectively coupled to thetransceiver may be used to provide omni-directional and/or directionalradiation patterns with adjustable spatial extents. This adjustabilitymay be used, for example, to dynamically reduce, enlarge, or otherwisealter the coverage area of the antenna to further narrow the location ofthe mobile device and/or locate a mobile device with which communicationhas been lost.

FIG. 7 illustrates a plurality of intelligent fixtures 702, 704, and 706each including directional antennas. In the example depicted, each ofthe intelligent fixtures 702, 704, 706 produces a correspondinglocalized coverage area 708, 710, 712. Each localized coverage area 708,710, 712 may comprise a region of a floor below the correspondingintelligent fixture 702, 704, 706. Each coverage area 708, 710, 712 maybe produced by a corresponding downward directed beam or directionalradiation pattern 714, 716, 718. A mobile device 720 that is within thecoverage area 710 of intelligent fixture 704 may only be able tocommunicate with intelligent fixture 704. This may be due to theradiation patterns 714, 718 from the neighboring intelligent fixtures702, 706 having negligible signal strength at the location of mobiledevice 720 as compared to the strength of the signal received fromintelligent fixture 704.

In this situation, the location of mobile device 720 may be determinedto lie within the coverage area 710 defined by the known spatial extentof the directional radiation pattern 716 transmitted by the intelligentfixture 704. In contrast, mobile device 722 is located in a regionoutside any of the coverage provided by directional radiation patterns714, 716, 718 of intelligent fixtures 702, 704, and 706. That is, mobiledevice 722 may be located outside the coverage areas 708, 710, 712 ofintelligent fixtures 702, 704, 706. Thus, the mobile device 722 may beunable to reliably send and/or receive signals from the intelligentfixtures 702, 704, 706. As a result, the mobile device 722 may beinvisible to the intelligent fixtures 702, 704, 706. A location where amobile device has difficulty receiving or transmitting signals to anintelligent fixture may be referred to as a “dead zone”.

FIG. 8 illustrates a system 800 that may provide high accuracy spatialinformation regarding the location of a mobile device while avoidingdead spots. In the depicted embodiment, intelligent fixture 802 mayemploy an antenna system that is configured to produce both adirectional radiation pattern 804 which confines the beacon signal to alocalized coverage area 806 located below the intelligent fixture 802,and an omni-directional radiation pattern 808 that provides broadercoverage area around the intelligent fixture 802. A mobile device 810may receive signals transmitted using the directional radiation pattern804 and/or signals transmitted using the omni-directional radiationpattern 808, depending on the location of the mobile device 810 and thetransmission mode of the intelligent fixture 802.

The location of the mobile device 810 may be determined based on themobile device 810 being located within the coverage area 806 produced bythe known spatial extent of the directional radiation pattern 804. Inthis situation, a mobile device 812 lying outside of the localizedcoverage area 806 produced by directional radiation pattern 804 ofintelligent fixture 802 would no longer lie in a dead zone. Rather, thepresence of the mobile device 812 could be determined based on signalsreceived from and/or transmitted to the mobile device 812 using theomni-directional antenna. That is, the omni-directional radiationpattern may fill in dead zones that would otherwise be present betweenthe coverage area 806 and coverage areas of neighboring intelligentfixtures.

Thus, by combining the directional radiation pattern 804 with theomni-directional radiation pattern 808, high accuracy may be achieved indetermining the location of a mobile device in the localized coveragearea 806 while avoiding dead zones. A mobile device 812 that receivesonly the signal transmitted by the omni-directional radiation pattern808 may determine its location at one level of accuracy. This level ofaccuracy may provide an approximate location of the mobile device 812 inthat the mobile device 812 is known to be in the general proximity ofintelligent fixture 802. Mobile device 810, which receives the signaltransmitted with the directional radiation pattern 804 and/or the signaltransmitted with the omni-directional radiation pattern 808, maydetermine its location at another level of accuracy. This level ofaccuracy may be higher than that determined solely from theomni-directional radiation pattern 808 because the mobile device 810 canbe determined to be within the localized coverage area 806. Thus,signals transmitted with the directional radiation pattern 804 may beconsidered as having one spatial resolution, and signals transmittedwith the omni-directional radiation pattern 808 (or a directionalradiation pattern that produces a broader coverage area than directionalradiation pattern 804) may be considered as having another, lessaccurate, spatial resolution.

The intelligent fixture 802 may be configured to operate in differentmodes. In one mode, the intelligent fixture 802 may transmit beaconsignals using the directional antenna (e.g., to enable mobile devices todetermine their location) and communication signals using theomni-directional antenna (e.g., to enable network communication betweenintelligent fixtures). In another mode of operation, the intelligentfixture 802 may transmit beacon signals using only the omni-directionalantenna. This mode may be employed, for example, to find a mobile devicethat has entered a dead zone. In another mode, the intelligent fixture802 may transmit beacon signals using both the directional andomni-directional antennas. In this mode, the frequency and/or UUID ofthe beacon signal transmitted by the directional antenna may bedifferent than the frequency and/or UUID of the beacon being transmittedusing the omni-directional antenna to facilitate distinguishing betweenthe two signals. In yet another mode, communication signals may betransmitted using the directional antenna, e.g., for bi-directionalcommunication with a mobile device known to be in the localized coveragearea 806.

The intelligent fixture may use Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi “packet sniffing”to detect the presence and/or determine the location of a mobile deviceby analyzing traffic transmitted from and/or to the mobile device. Forexample, detection of Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth packets transmitted fromthe mobile device using the omni-directional antenna could be used todetermine that a mobile device has entered the enclosed space occupiedby the intelligent fixture. This information could then be shared withother intelligent fixtures on the network. In response, these additionalintelligent fixtures could sniff for Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth packets fromthe mobile device using their directional and/or omni-directionalantennas to accurately determine the location of the mobile devicewithin the enclosed space.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart illustrating a process 900 of determiningthe location of a mobile device that may be executed by one or morecomputing devices, such as the mobile device 102, control circuit 206,and/or an external computing system. In block 902, an intelligentfixture transmits signals having different spatial resolutions. Forexample, a low spatial resolution signal may have a spatial resolutionthat corresponds to a radiation pattern with a relatively broad spatialextent, such as the omni-directional radiation pattern 808. A highspatial resolution signal may have a spatial resolution that correspondsto a radiation pattern having a localized spatial extent, such as thedirectional radiation pattern 804. The high spatial resolution and lowspatial resolution radiation patterns may be produced by a singleantenna array or by separate antennas that each produce one of theradiation patterns.

In block 904, the process 900 may receive one or more signalstransmitted by the mobile device. The signals may be received at awireless network access point, and/or by one or more intelligentfixtures. These signals may be transmitted in response to the mobiledevice receiving one or more of the high spatial resolution and/or lowspatial resolution signals. The signals received from the mobile devicemay be, for example, one or more data packets transmitted to a server orother network node by the mobile device, e.g., to request dataassociated with the UUID of a beacon signal.

In block 906, the process 900 determines, for each of the one or moresignals received by from the mobile device, an approximate location ofthe mobile device based on the respective received signal. As describedabove with respect to FIG. 8, an approximation based on the high spatialresolution signal may be more accurate than an approximation based onthe low spatial resolution signal. When the signal(s) received from themobile device indicate that the mobile device has only received the lowspatial resolution signal, it may be determined that the mobile deviceis not located within the spatial extent of the high spatial resolutionradiation pattern of the intelligent fixture. In response to determiningthat the mobile device is only receiving low spatial resolution signals,the process 900 may collect data from a plurality of intelligentfixtures and determine the location of the mobile device based onmultilateration of the signals received from the mobile device.

FIG. 10 depicts a flowchart illustrating a process 1000 that may beexecuted by the mobile device to provide location information to one ormore intelligent fixtures. In block 1002, the process 1000 may receiveone or more of a low spatial resolution signal and a high spatialresolution signal. These signals may be received, for example, by themobile device. The low spatial resolution signal may correspond to aradiation pattern having a broad spatial extent, and the high spatialresolution signal may correspond to a radiation pattern having alocalized spatial extent.

In block 1004, the process 1000 may transmit one or more signals inresponse to receiving the low spatial resolution signal and/or the highspatial resolution signal. The one or more signals transmitted by themobile device may provide information regarding the location of themobile device. For example, the signals may provide location informationto the intelligent fixture indicating a level of spatial resolution ofthe signals received by the mobile device. This indication may beprovided, for example, by a unique identifier embedded in each of thehigh and low spatial resolution signals. The information provided by thesignals may allow the intelligent fixture, mobile device, or othercomputing device, to determine the location of the mobile device.

FIGS. 11A and 11B depict a flow chart illustrating a process 1100 ofcontrolling a system that includes a mobile device and one or moreintelligent fixtures. The one or more intelligent fixtures may include areconfigurable antenna, such as an antenna array that can be dynamicallyconfigured to transmit signals having different radiation patterns,e.g., an omni-directional radiation pattern or one or more directionalradiation patterns. In block 1102, the process 1100 may initialize thesystem. To this end, the mobile device may communicate directly with oneor more of the intelligent fixtures to provide initializationparameters. The mobile device may transmit the initialization parametersto each intelligent fixture directly, for example, for systems in whichthe intelligent fixtures do not communicate with one another. In otherembodiments, the mobile device may communicate with one or moreintelligent fixtures that are configured to act as control devices for anetwork of intelligent fixtures. In a networked configuration, thenetworked intelligent fixtures may communicate among themselves usingomni-directional signals.

The ability to transmit both high spatial resolution and low spatialresolution signals may enable the intelligent fixtures to communicatewith each other without compromising the spatial resolution of signalsused to locate mobile devices. That is, the low spatial resolutionsignals (which may provide coverage that overlaps other intelligentfixtures) may be used for inter-fixture communication. This may allowthe high spatial resolution signals to be optimized for determining thelocation of mobile devices without concern for inter-fixturecommunication. This, in turn, may allow the high-resolution signals tobe configured so that they are confined to localized coverage areas thatdo not overlap those of other intelligent fixtures, or that overlapthose of other intelligent fixtures in a controlled manner.

In block 1104, the process 1100 may configure the antenna array on oneor more intelligent fixtures to transmit telemetry having one type ofprotocol (e.g., iBeacon telemetry data) using signals having adirectional radiation pattern. The process 1100 may then proceed toblock 1106, and transmit telemetry data according to the selectedformat. The telemetry data may be configured to be received andprocessed by a mobile device configured to receive and process data inthe selected format. The telemetry data may include a reference RSSIvalue associated with the signal strength at a fixed distance (e.g., onemeter) from the intelligent fixture that is transmitting the data. Thisreference RSSI value may be used to determine distance by comparing thereference RSSI value to the RSSI of the signal received by the mobiledevice.

In block 1108, the process 1100 may reconfigure the antenna array of oneor more intelligent fixtures to transmit another type of telemetry data(e.g., Eddystone telemetry data) using signals having a directionalradiation pattern. The process 1100 may then proceed to 1110 andtransmit telemetry data according to the selected format. The telemetrydata may be configured to be received and processed by a mobile deviceconfigured to receive and process data in the selected format. ForEddystone data, the device may be a smart phone running the Android™operating system. The telemetry data transmitted in block 1110 mayinclude an RSSI value associated with the signal strength of theintelligent fixture that is transmitting the data in a manner similar tothat described above with respect to the previously selected telemetrysignal.

The process 1100 may periodically switch between transmitting data inone format (e.g., the iBeacon format) to transmitting data in the otherformat (e.g., the Eddystone format), or any other suitable data format,during a short time scale. For example, the intelligent fixture maytransmit one or more beacon advertising packets in one format over a 20millisecond period, and then switch to another format for the nexttransmission interval. Other time intervals may also be used, such as 1millisecond, 5 milliseconds, 10 milliseconds, 15 milliseconds, 25milliseconds, 30 milliseconds, 35 milliseconds, etc. Persons of ordinaryskill in the art would recognize that the system may be configured toswitch beacon formats using different time intervals. Repeatedlytransmitting beacon telemetry data using different formats may enablethe intelligent fixtures to interact with a wide variety of mobiledevices with low latency.

A mobile device receiving telemetry data transmitted by the intelligentfixtures may use the received telemetry data to determine the locationof the mobile device relative to one or more intelligent fixtures. Forexample, a mobile device receiving an RSSI value and/or a UUID valueassociated with an intelligent fixture may use this information toestimate the location of the mobile device. In cases where radiationpatterns (omni or directional) between two or more intelligent fixturesoverlap so that they are both detected by the mobile device, the mobiledevice may estimate its location based on both the received RSSI and/orUUID values. For example, the mobile device may use multilateration todetermine its location based on the relative strength of each receivedRSSI value, which may be used to estimate the distance to thecorresponding intelligent fixture, and the location of the correspondingintelligent fixture, which may be determined from the UUID.

In block 1112, the process 1100 may configure the antenna array of oneor more intelligent fixtures to transmit data having one type ofprotocol (e.g., the Bluetooth Smart™ format). The antenna array may beconfigured to transmit this data using a radiation pattern optimized fordata communication, such as an omni-directional radiation pattern. Theprocess 1100 may then proceed to block 1114 and transmit data and acontrol profile (e.g., a Bluetooth Smart data and control profile) fromone or more intelligent fixtures. A mobile device running a compatibleprotocol (e.g., the Bluetooth Smart Ready™ protocol) may then be pairedto one or more of the intelligent fixtures using the transmitted data.In block 1116, one or more of the intelligent fixtures may determinewhether or not a mobile device is attempting to pair with theintelligent fixture. If the process 1100 determines that no mobiledevices are attempting to pair with an intelligent fixture (“NO” branchof decision block 1116), then the process 1100 may return to block 1104,and continue transmitting beacon telemetry data.

If the process 1100 determines a mobile device is attempting to pairwith an intelligent fixture (“YES” branch of decision block 1116), theprocess 1100 may proceed to block 1118. In block 1118, the process 1100may interrogate the mobile device and determine if the mobile device isan appropriate device for pairing. The process 1100 may make thisdetermination, for example, by checking a database of known good devicesto determine if the mobile device is a known good device.

If the mobile device is invalid or otherwise not appropriate for pairing(“NO” branch of decision block 1120), the process 1100 may return toblock 1104 and continue transmitting beacon telemetry data. If themobile device is determined to be a valid device (“YES” branch ofdecision block 1120), the process 1000 may pair the mobile device withone of the intelligent fixtures.

In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile device may interact withthe system to control various functions. For example, the mobile devicemay interact with the system to perform lighting control functions, tomodify system setup parameters, and/or to provide data to theintelligent fixtures in order to implement firmware updates. To thisend, in block 1122, the process 1100 may check data received from themobile device against a database of queries and/or commands. If theprocess 1100 determines that the mobile device is attempting to performfunctions related to lighting control (“YES” branch of decision block1124), the process 1100 may proceed to block 1126. In block 1126, theprocess 1100 may provide updated lighting control parameters to theintelligent fixtures. In turn, the intelligent fixtures may updatelighting control parameters based on the data supplied by the mobiledevice. The process 1100 may then return to block 1104 and continuetransmitting beacon telemetry data.

If the mobile device is not requesting lighting control functions (“NO”branch of decision block 1124), the process 1100 may proceed to block1128 and determine whether or not the mobile device is requestingupdates to the system and/or a modification of the setup configurationof the system. If the process 1100 determines that the system or setupconfiguration is to be updated (“YES” branch of decision block 1128),the process 1100 may proceed to block 1130 and update the systemconfiguration or setup data. The process may then return to block 1104and continue transmitting beacon telemetry data.

If the process 1100 determines that the mobile device is not requestingupdates to the system configuration or setup data (“NO” branch ofdecision block 1128), the process 1100 may proceed to block 1132 anddetermine whether or not the mobile device is requesting implementationof over-the-air firmware updates. If the process 1100 determines themobile device is requesting over-the-air firmware updates (“YES” branchof decision block 1132), the process 1100 may proceed to block 1134 andimplement the over-the-air firmware updates. The process 1100 may thenreturn to block 1104 and continue to transmit beacon telemetry data.

If the process 1100 determines that the mobile device is not requestingover-the-air firmware updates (“NO” branch of decision block 1132), theprocess 1100 may proceed to block 1136 (FIG. 11B). In block 1136, theprocess 1100 may check data that is provided by color and ambient lightsensors against requested data set points to determine if changes needto be made, such as changes to the output of one or more light fixtures.If any changes need to be made (“YES” branch of decision block 1138),the process 1100 may proceed to block 1140 and communicate the updatesto the system, e.g., the affected intelligent fixtures and/or controllerfixture. The process 1100 may then proceed to block 1142. If the process1100 determines that no changes need to be made (“NO” branch of decisionblock 1138), the process 1100 may proceed directly to block 1142.

In block 1142, the process 1100 may check data that is provided bytemperature and humidity sensors against requested data set points todetermine if changes need to be made, e.g., to the settings of an HVACsystem. If the process 1100 determines changes have occurred in measuredvalues of temperature and humidity relative to the data set points(“YES” branch of decision block 1142), the process 1100 may proceed toblock 1146. In block 1146, the process 1100 may communicate the updatesto the appropriate system, e.g., the HVAC system, and proceed to block1148. If the process 1100 determines that no changes need to be made(“NO” branch of decision block 1146), the process 1100 may proceeddirectly to block 1148.

In block 1148, the process 1000 may check data that is provided bymotion detection sensors against requested data set points to determineif changes need to be made, e.g., to sensitivity settings that detectthe presence or absence of persons in an area of the building. If theprocess 1100 determines changes have occurred in measured values ofmotion detection data relative to data set points (“YES” branch ofdecision block 1150), the process 1100 may proceed to block 1152 andcommunicate the updates to the appropriate system before proceeding toblock 1154. If the process 1100 determines that no changes need to bemade (“NO” branch of decision block 1150), the process 1100 may proceeddirectly to block 1154.

In block 1154, the system may check data that is provided by near fieldcommunication (NFC) sensors against requested data set points todetermine if changes need to be made. If the process 1100 determineschanges have occurred in measured values of NFC data relative to dataset points (“YES” branch of decision block 1156), the process mayproceed to block 1158 and communicate the updates to the appropriatesystem before proceeding to block 1160. If the process 1100 determinesthat no changes need to be made (“NO” branch of decision block 1156),the process 1100 may proceed directly to block 1160.

In block 1160, the process 1100 may check data that is provided bymachine vision sensors (e.g., cameras) against requested data set pointsto determine if changes need to be made. If the process 1100 determineschanges have occurred in measured values of machine vision data relativeto data set points (“YES” branch of decision block 1162), the process1100 may proceed to block 1164 and communicate the updates to theappropriate system before proceeding to block 1166. If the process 1100determines that no changes need to be made (“NO” branch of decisionblock 1162), the process 1100 may return to block 1104, and continuetransmitting beacon telemetry data.

In block 1166, the process 1100 may determine if a Wi-Fi system packetis available. If a Wi-Fi system packet is available (“YES” branch ofdecision block 1166), the process 1100 may proceed to block 1168. Inblock 1168, the process 1100 may receive the Wi-Fi system packet andupdate the system according to data contained therein before returningto block 1104 to continue transmitting beacon telemetry data. If theWi-Fi system packet is not available (“NO” branch of decision block1166), the process 1100 may return directly to block 1104 and continuetransmitting beacon telemetry data.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 1200 that maybe used to implement embodiments of the invention, or portions thereof,e.g., the mobile devices, intelligent fixtures, and/or other computingdevices. The computer system 1200 may include a processor 1202, a memory1204, a mass storage memory device 1206, an input/output (I/O) interface1208, and a Human Machine Interface (HMI) 1210. The computer system 1200may also be operatively coupled to one or more external resources 1212via a network 1214 and/or the I/O interface 1208. External resources mayinclude, but are not limited to, servers, databases, mass storagedevices, peripheral devices, cloud-based network services, or any othersuitable computer resource that may be used by the computer system 1200.

The processor 1202 may include one or more devices selected frommicroprocessors, micro-controllers, digital signal processors,microcomputers, central processing units, field programmable gatearrays, programmable logic devices, state machines, logic circuits,analog circuits, digital circuits, or any other devices that manipulatesignals (analog or digital) based on operational instructions that arestored in the memory 1204. Memory 1204 may include a single memorydevice or a plurality of memory devices including, but not limited to,read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), volatile memory,non-volatile memory, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), flash memory, cache memory, or any other devicecapable of storing information. The mass storage memory device 1206 mayinclude data storage devices such as a hard drive, optical drive, tapedrive, volatile or non-volatile solid state device, or any other devicecapable of storing information.

The processor 1202 may operate under the control of an operating system1216 that resides in memory 1204. The operating system 1216 may managecomputer resources so that computer program code embodied as one or morecomputer software applications, such as an application 1218 residing inmemory 1204, may have instructions executed by the processor 1202. In analternative embodiment, the processor 1202 may execute the application1218 directly, in which case the operating system 1216 may be omitted.One or more data structures 1220 may also reside in memory 1204, and maybe used by the processor 1202, operating system 1216, or application1218 to store or manipulate data.

The I/O interface 1208 may provide a machine interface that operativelycouples the processor 1202 to other devices and systems, such as thenetwork 1214 or external resource 1212. The application 1218 may therebywork cooperatively with the network 1214 or external resource 1212 bycommunicating via the I/O interface 1208 to provide the variousfeatures, functions, applications, processes, or modules comprisingembodiments of the invention. The application 1218 may also have programcode that is executed by one or more external resources 1212, orotherwise rely on functions or signals provided by other system ornetwork components external to the computer system 1200. Indeed, giventhe nearly endless hardware and software configurations possible,persons having ordinary skill in the art will understand thatembodiments of the invention may include applications that are locatedexternally to the computer system 1200, distributed among multiplecomputers or other external resources 1212, or provided by computingresources (hardware and software) that are provided as a service overthe network 1214, such as a cloud computing service.

The HMI 1210 may be operatively coupled to the processor 1202 ofcomputer system 1200 in a known manner to allow a user to interactdirectly with the computer system 1200. The HMI 1210 may include videoor alphanumeric displays, a touch screen, a speaker, and any othersuitable audio and visual indicators capable of providing data to theuser. The HMI 1210 may also include input devices and controls such asan alphanumeric keyboard, a pointing device, keypads, pushbuttons,control knobs, microphones, etc., capable of accepting commands or inputfrom the user and transmitting the entered input to the processor 1202.

A database 1222 may reside on the mass storage memory device 1206, andmay be used to collect and organize data used by the various systems andmodules described herein. The database 1222 may include data andsupporting data structures that store and organize the data. Inparticular, the database 1222 may be arranged with any databaseorganization or structure including, but not limited to, a relationaldatabase, a hierarchical database, a network database, or combinationsthereof. A database management system in the form of a computer softwareapplication executing as instructions on the processor 1202 may be usedto access the information or data stored in records of the database 1222in response to a query, where a query may be dynamically determined andexecuted by the operating system 1216, other applications 1218, or oneor more modules.

In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile device may include amobile application that, in response to receiving a Bluetooth beaconincluding a UUID, determines an action based on the UUID. This actionmay include, for example, querying a lookup table or database stored onthe mobile device 102 and/or “in the cloud” for instructions. Theinstructions may cause the application to transmit information (e.g.,the UUID and/or user identity) to a server or computing systemassociated with a merchant. This information may be transmitted usingWi-Fi or Bluetooth packets transmitted to the intelligent fixture, datapackets transmitted over a wireless data network provided by a wirelesscarrier, or using any other suitable method of communication.

The merchant system may determine the location of the user based on thereceived information and cause a nearby device, such as the user'smobile device or a machine proximate to the user (e.g., a gasoline pump)to display information specific to the user. Information specific to theuser may include information previously selected by the user as part ofa customer loyalty program, and/or information selected by the merchantsystem based on the identity, location, and/or preferences of the user.Examples of user specific information may include weather forecasts, howmany points are in the user's loyalty account, or specific types ofnews, such as scores for selected sports teams or political newsstories. The information displayed to the user may also include anadvertisement or other type of marketing promotion. Space foradvertisements may be used by the merchant, or sold to a third partyadvertiser. The advertisement may include, for example, an offer toredeem points for an item, such as a beverage, food item, or otherproduct sold proximate to the user's current location.

The user specific information may further include selectable paymentoptions for a purchase. For example, the display may provide the userwith the option of using one or more credit cards previously registeredby the user for payment. Advantageously, this may allow the user topurchase a product (e.g., a tank of fuel) without having to present aphysical form of payment or retrieve their wallet. This may allow theuser to avoid exposing their form of payment to skimming or other typesof theft.

At the time of payment, the merchant system may propose addingadditional goods or services to the purchase based on the user'sprofile. For example, if the user has a history of purchasing a foodproduct when filling up their vehicle, the merchant system may proposeadding a food product to the purchase, which may be offered with adiscount. In response to the user accepting the offer, the merchantsystem may provide instructions to the user on how to receive theproduct, e.g., instructions to see an attendant.

The mobile application may forward data to the merchant system thatenables the merchant system to track users' locations within a store aswell as their purchase histories. This type of data may be stored in adatabase that enables the merchant to, for example, track sales by storeand user, as well as maintain data on user behavior, preferences, and/orresponses to various promotions.

By way of another example, a UUID transmitted by an intelligent fixtureilluminating a vehicle at a car dealership may be associated withinformation about the vehicle in the database. In response to the mobiledevice receiving this UUID (e.g., as the user approaches the vehicle),the mobile application may retrieve and display the information to theuser based on the UUID. In addition, the intelligent fixture may alterthe output of the light (e.g., change the intensity or color) inresponse to the mobile application querying the database so that thevehicle is presented favorably to the user. The mobile application mayalso manage or otherwise control lighting characteristics in othersettings (e.g., a hospital) as discussed above.

As yet another example, the mobile application may provide a way-finderfunction. To this end, the mobile application may determine a locationof a product or destination entered by a user (i.e., a destinationlocation) with respect to the current location of the mobile device asdetermined from one or more received beacons. For example, whileshopping in a grocery store, the user may enter “bread” into the mobileapplication. The mobile application may then query a database for thelocation of the product, and direct the user to this location, e.g., bydisplaying directions or a map to the product from the current locationof the mobile device. As the user moves toward the location of theproduct, the mobile application may continue to update the location ofthe mobile device based on beacon signals received along the route. Themobile application may use this updated location to help guide the userto the location of the product.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart depicting a process 1300 for resolving aUUID, e.g., retrieving information and/or determining a location basedon a received beacon signal. The process 1300 may be executed by anapplication on the mobile device, or by any other suitable computersystem in communication with the mobile device.

In block 1302, the process 1300 receives one or more beacon signals eachincluding a UUID. If the process 1300 determines that multiple beaconshave been received (“YES” branch of decision block 1304), the process1300 may proceed to block 1306 and select a beacon to resolve beforeproceeding to block 1308. Selecting a beacon to resolve may includeextracting the UUID from the beacon, and determining a spatialresolution of the beacon based on the UUID, e.g., by looking up thespatial resolution associated with the UUID in a database. If one UUIDis associated with a beacon having a spatial resolution known to be moreaccurate than the spatial extent of another UUID, the process 1300 mayselect the UUID associated with the beacon having the more accuratespatial resolution, e.g., being transmitted with a directional antenna.The process 1300 may also determine the RSSI of each beacon signal, andselect the beacon having the strongest signal. The process 1300 may alsoselect the UUID using some combination of RSSI and spatial resolutiondata. If the process 1300 determines that multiple beacons have not beenreceived (“NO” branch of decision block 1304), the process 1300 mayproceed to block 1308 without passing through block 1306.

In block 1308, the process 1300 may query a database for informationassociated with the UUID being resolved. By way of example, an entitythat is associated with the beacon (e.g., a merchant) may maintain thedatabase, or register the UUID with a service provider that maintainsthe database. In this scenario, the database may be remotely accessed bythe process 1300 through a wide area network such as the Internet. Theprocess 1300 may query the database by transmitting the UUID to theaforementioned remote database, or query a local database that is cachedor otherwise maintained in the memory of the mobile device. Forapplications using cached databases, the application may update thecache periodically. In response to receiving the UUID, the database mayidentify data that is associated with the UUID.

In block 1310, the process 1300 may receive the data associated with theUUID from the database. The received data may include data relating toan offer by the merchant, advertisements, coupons, location, sales andpromotions, services, sub-locations (such as the location of a productwithin a store), instructions to be executed by the mobile device, dataidentifying an application on the mobile device to be activated, datadirecting the mobile device to access a third party server and/or issueinstructions to another computer system, or any other suitable data.

In block 1312, the process 1300 may perform a function based on thereceived data. Exemplary functions may include displaying a coupon,causing a payment to be made (e.g., to purchase an e-ticket for enteringan exhibit), or adjusting ambient conditions (e.g., light level orcolor, temperature, humidity). That is, one or more applications on themobile device may display information and/or perform some action basedon the data received from the database. Actions may include launchinganother application, changing a status of the mobile device (e.g.,causing the mobile device to enter a silent mode), activating a buildingcontrol application that turns on lights, adjusts an HVAC system, etc.

In an embodiment of the invention, the received data may include a URLand activate a browser application on the mobile device. In response tobeing activated, the browser application may navigate to a web portalidentified by the URL. This web portal may include data provided by theentity associated with the beacon, and/or data provided by theintelligent fixture transmitting the beacon.

FIG. 14 illustrates a smart object ecosystem 1400 that may be found, forexample, in a retail environment. The smart object ecosystem 1400includes an intelligent fixture 1402 that may be located generally abovea gondola 1404 or other retail display, electronic tags 1406, and amobile device 1408. The gondola 1404 includes a plurality of shelves1410 that are stocked with products 1412. The electronic tags 1406 areattached to the shelves 1410 and display information relating to theproducts 1412, such as a stock keeping unit (SKU) and/or price. In atypical deployment, the gondola 1404 may be one of a plurality ofgondolas that define shopping aisles, and the intelligent fixture 1402may be one of a plurality of networked intelligent fixtures as generallydescribed above.

The electronic tags 1406 may be configured so that the mobile device1408 receives data from one of the electronic tags 1406 in response to auser 1414 placing the mobile device 1408 in proximity to the electronictag 1406. The data received from the electronic tag 1406 may include aUUID or other information that can be used by an application on themobile device 1408 to access additional data, e.g., information relatingto the product. The data received may also enable the application toperform other functions. For example, the data may enable the mobiledevice 1408 to determine its location, thereby facilitating theoperation of a way-finding application.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the smart object ecosystem 1400 of FIG. 14in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The smart objectecosystem 1400 may include the intelligent fixture 1402, the electronictag 1406, the mobile device 1408, a gateway 1420, a network 1422, aDatabase Management System (DBMS) 1424, and a database 1426. The network1422 may include one or a combination of the Internet, a public network(e.g., a mobile communications service provider), an unlicensed network(e.g., WiFi or other wireless network), or any other suitable networkthat provides communication between components of the smart objectecosystem 1400.

The electronic tag 1406 may include an antenna 1430, a display 1432(e.g. a liquid crystal or electronic ink display), a power source 1434,a wireless communication module 1436, a Near Field Communication (NFC)module 1438, and a processor 1440 that controls operation of theelectronic tag 1406. The electronic tag 1406 may be configured tooperate independently or in cooperation with the other components of thesmart object ecosystem 1400 to provide indoor positioning, way-finding,and proximity marketing information to the user 1414 via the mobiledevice 1408. The electronic tag 1406 may also store data relating tointerrogation signals received from mobile devices for retrieval by theDBMS 1424.

The gateway 1420 may provide an interface between the electronic tags1406 and the network 1422. To this end, the gateway 1420 may includeprotocol translators that provide system interoperability betweennetworks or devices using different communication protocols. Theprotocol translators may perform protocol conversions, such asconversions between Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, and/or any othercommunication protocols used in the smart object ecosystem 1400, such asZigBee®, which is an IEEE 802.15.4-based communication protocolmaintained by the ZigBee Alliance of Davis, Calif.

The gateway 1420 may provide a Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network(LR-WPAN) over which the gateway 1420 exchanges data with the electronictags 1406 using any suitable communication protocol, e.g., ZigBee. Thegateway 1420 may thereby enable the DBMS 1424 to transmit informationto, and receive information from, the electronic tags 1406. Thisinformation may include, for example, updates to a price displayed bythe tag. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the functionsprovided by the gateway 1420 may be integrated into the intelligentfixture 1402, in which case the gateway 1420 may be omitted. The DBMS1424 may include a server that is configured to receive queries over thenetwork 1422, e.g., from the mobile device 1408 or an operator system.In response to receiving the query, the DBMS 1424 may query the database1426 for results matching the received query. The DBMS 1424 may thentransmit at least a portion of the results to the source of the originalquery. The results may include custom mobile applications that can bedownloaded to the mobile device 1408 over the network 1422 for executionby the mobile device 1408. The DBMS 1424 may also store data relating tothe querying device, such as the identity of the user of the device, thelocation of the device at the time of the query, a product associatedwith the query, or any other suitable data. Services provided by theDBMS 1424 may include, but are not limited to, location based services(e.g., way-finding) and user tracking (e.g., analyzing behavior andbuilding user profiles based on the user's interactions with theelectronic tags 1406).

The antenna 1430 may include one or more electrically conductiveelements that convert signals received from the wireless communicationand/or NFC modules into electro-magnetic waves, e.g. radio waves. Theelements of the antenna 1430 may also convert electro-magnetic wavesincident on the electronic tag 1406 into electrical signals that areprovided to the wireless communication and/or NFC modules. The antenna1430 may comprise a single antenna or multiple antennas each havingdifferent characteristics, e.g., different frequency ranges and/ordirectivities. The one or more antennas may be selectively coupled tothe wireless communication and/or NFC modules to optimize transmissionand/or reception of different signals. The selection of the one or moreantennas may be made by the processor 1440 based on the type of signalbeing transmitted or received.

The power source 1434 may include a photocell that converts ambientlight (e.g., light from the intelligent fixture 1402) into electricpower, a battery, and/or other suitable electrical generation and/orstorage devices. The battery may be configured to store electricitygenerated by the photocell, and to provide electricity during periodswhen the photocell is not generating a sufficient amount of power forthe electronic tag 1406. The photocell may fail to generate sufficientpower, for example, during periods of high power demand (e.g., while theelectronic tag 1406 is transmitting signals) or periods of low output bythe photocell (e.g., when the photocell is shaded and/or the ambientlighting is low). In an alternative embodiment of the invention, thepower source 1434 may include a non-rechargeable battery that is usedonce and replaced when it has been discharged.

The wireless communication module 1436 may include a transceiver fortransmitting and receiving far-field signals, such as Bluetooth datapackets, ZigBee data packets, or any other suitable communicationprotocol. The wireless communication module 1436 may enable theelectronic tag 1406 to exchange data with the gateway 1420, intelligentfixture 1402, and/or mobile device 1408. This ability to exchange datamay facilitate provisioning and/or mapping of the electronic tags 1406,as well as the gathering of data from the electronic tags 1406 over thenetwork 1422.

The NFC module 1438 may be a passive device that uses power extractedfrom electro-magnetic waves transmitted by the mobile device 1408, suchas an interrogation signal 1442 transmitted in response to tapping theelectronic tag 1406, or an active device that uses power from the powersource 1434. The NFC module 1438 may be configured to transmit a beaconsignal 1444 in response to the electronic tag 1406 receiving theinterrogation signal 1442, or to autonomously transmit the beacon signal1444 on a periodic basis. The NFC module 1438 may transmit the beaconsignal 1444 by generating a near field electro-magnetic signal that isreceived by the mobile device 1408 so long as the mobile device is inclose proximity (e.g., within 4 cm) to the electronic tag 1406. Themobile device 1408 may receive the NFC beacon signal and extractinformation encoded therein, e.g., the UUID or other suitable beaconprotocol such as an iBeacon or Eddystone beacon protocol.

In response to receiving the beacon signal 1444 from the electronic tag1406, the mobile device 1408 may transmit a message to the DBMS 1424that includes the UUID contained in the beacon signal 1444. In responseto receiving the message, the DBMS 1424 may transmit one or more replymessages to the mobile device 1408. The reply messages may include datarelating to a product proximate to the electronic tag 1406 (e.g., apromotion message, a coupon, or additional information about theproduct), other similar products in which the user may be interested, orany other information associated with the UUID in the database 1426.Storing information relating to products 1412 on the database 1426 mayenable the information to be updated (e.g., with new offers, prices, andcoupons) at any time without the need to access or alter the data storedin the electronic tag 1406.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart depicting a process 1450 that may beexecuted by one or more components of the smart object ecosystem 1400.In block 1452, the mobile device 1408 receives a beacon signal from acomponent of the smart object ecosystem 1400. The beacon signal may bereceived in response to the user entering an area covered by the smartobject ecosystem 1400 (e.g., a retail store), and may be transmittedfrom the intelligent fixture 1402 and/or gateway 1420. The beacon signalmay comprise a Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, or other beacon signal asdescribed above, and may be encoded with a UUID that is in turnassociated with a URL or other network address in a database, such asdatabase 1426.

In response to receiving the beacon signal, the process 1450 may proceedto block 1454 and (if the application has not previously been installed)cause the mobile device 1408 to display an icon requesting the userinstall a mobile application. The icon may be displayed by the mobiledevice 1408 in response to the mobile device 1408 accessing the networkaddress associated with the UUID encoded in the beacon signal. Inresponse to the user activating the icon (“YES” branch of decision block1456), the process 1450 may proceed to block 1458 and install theapplication. The mobile device 1408 may install the mobile application,for example, by downloading the application from the DBMS 1424. If theuser does not activate the icon (“NO” branch of decision block 1456),the process 1450 may terminate.

In block 1460, the mobile application may be used to provide a serviceto the user 1414, e.g., way-finding to a product in the store, such as aproduct entered into the application by the user, or that the userpreviously added to a list associated with their user profile in thedatabase 1426. To this end, the application may determine the locationof the product (e.g., using mapping data provided by the DBMS 1424and/or stored locally on the mobile device 1408), and the location ofthe mobile device 1408 (e.g., using beacon signals transmitted by one ormore intelligent fixtures and/or beacon signals received from theelectronic tags 1406). The location of the mobile device 1408 may bedetermined base on the UUIDs received by the mobile device 1408,multilateration of received beacon signals by the mobile device 1408,and/or triangulation by the intelligent light fixtures of signalsreceived from the mobile device 1408.

When the user 1414 reaches the product 1412, the process 1450 mayproceed to block 1462 and cause the mobile device 1408 to be paired withan electronic tag 1406 proximate to the product 1412. Pairing may beinitiated, for example, by touching the electronic tag 1406 with themobile device 1408. In response to the mobile device 1408 detecting thetouch (e.g., using an internal accelerometer), the mobile device 1408may listen for the beacon signal transmitted by the electronic tag 1406using an NFC protocol. The electronic tag 1406 may embed the iBeaconUUID, major, and minor identifiers, the Eddystone UUID, or any othersuitable set of unique identifiers in the beacon signal transmitted tothe mobile device 1408 using the NFC protocol.

In response to receiving the NFC beacon signal from the electronic tag1406, the process 1450 may proceed to block 1464 and download data fromthe database 1426. To initiate the download, the mobile device 1408 maytransmit a message to the DBMS 1424 that includes the UUID embedded inthe beacon signal. In response to receiving the message, the DBMS 1424may transmit one or more reply messages to the mobile device 1408. Thereply messages may include data relating to product proximate to theelectronic tag 1406, such as a promotion message, a coupon, additionalinformation about the product, other similar products in which the usermay be interested, or any other suitable information associated with theUUID in the database 1426. All or a portion of this data may then bedisplayed to the user 1414 by the mobile device 1408.

FIG. 17 illustrates a flowchart depicting another process 1470 that maybe executed by one or more components of the smart object ecosystem1400. In block 1472, each electronic tag 1406 is coded with one or moreUUID codes. These codes may include the iBeacon UUID, major, and minoridentifiers, the Eddystone UUID, or any other suitable UUID. The UUIDcodes may be stored in a non-volatile memory of the electronic tag 1406,for example, by the manufacturer at the time the electronic tag 1406 isproduced. For embodiments of the invention in which the electronic tag1406 broadcasts more than one beacon (e.g., a Bluetooth beacon, an NFCbeacon, and/or beacons having different spatial extents), each beaconmay have a different UUID so that the beacons can be easilydistinguished from one another by a receiving device.

Once the electronic tags 1406 have been encoded, the process 1470 mayproceed to block 1474 and configure the database to resolve the UUIDscoded into the electronic tags 1406. Configuring the database mayinclude uploading the UUIDs into the database 1426 and associating eachUUID with information to be provided to mobile devices that receive abeacon containing the UUID.

In block 1476, the mobile device receives a beacon containing a UUIDfrom a component of the system, and transmits the UUID to the DBMS 1424.The beacon may be received in response to the mobile device 1408entering an area covered by the smart object ecosystem 1400 (e.g., aretail store), and may be transmitted from the intelligent fixture 1402,an electronic tag 1406, and/or the gateway 1420. The beacon may comprisea Bluetooth, WiFi, or NFC beacon signal as described above, and the UUIDmay be associated with a URL or other network address, or any othersuitable data in the database 1426.

In block 1478, the process 1470 may resolve the UUID. Resolving the UUIDmay include receiving the UUID at the DBMS 1424, and the DBMS 1424retrieving data that is associated with the UUID from the database 1426.The process 1470 may them proceed to block 1480, and cause the mobiledevice 1408 to receive the data from the DBMS 1424 and display the datato the user.

Advantageously, by configuring the NFC module of the electronic tag totransmit a UUID rather than some other, non-universally unique data(e.g., a URL), the data received by the mobile device based on the UUIDcan be managed specifically for that electronic tag without altering thedata stored locally in the tag. By enabling the data associated with aparticular tag to be stored in a central database, the UUID facilitatesupdating information displayed by the mobile device at an atomic level.More advantageously, integrating the electronic tag with the wirelesscommunication module enables the location of the electronic tag to beautomatically determined by the smart object ecosystem using the indoorpositioning features of the intelligent fixture.

The location mapping and provisioning features enabled by including thewireless communication module in the electronic tag may be used tofacilitate both deployment and updating of the information displayed bythe electronic tag. By avoiding the need to preload the electronic tagwith data other than the UUID, which is static, users may avoid havingto move or replace the electronic tag in response to changing theproducts displayed in the area of the electronic tag. Using beaconprotocols may also enable NFC communication to manage security usingiBeacon and/or Eddystone protocols. These protocols may include atwo-step identification method between the mobile application and theDBMS 1424. This is in contrast to conventional NFC based electronictags, which use URLs having essentially no security.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of theinvention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module or sequence ofinstructions, or even a subset thereof, may be referred to herein as“computer program code,” or simply “program code.” Program codetypically comprises computer-readable instructions that are resident atvarious times in various memory and storage devices in a computer andthat, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer,cause that computer to perform the operations necessary to executeoperations and/or elements embodying the various aspects of theembodiments of the invention. Computer-readable program instructions forcarrying out operations of the embodiments of the invention may be, forexample, assembly language or either source code or object code writtenin any combination of one or more programming languages.

Various program code described herein may be identified based upon theapplication within that it is implemented in specific embodiments of theinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature that follows is used merely for convenience, and thus theinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature. Furthermore,given the generally endless number of manners in which computer programsmay be organized into routines, procedures, methods, modules, objects,and the like, as well as the various manners in which programfunctionality may be allocated among various software layers that areresident within a typical computer (e.g., operating systems, libraries,API's, applications, applets, etc.), it should be appreciated that theembodiments of the invention are not limited to the specificorganization and allocation of program functionality described herein.

The program code embodied in any of the applications/modules describedherein is capable of being individually or collectively distributed as acomputer program product in a variety of different forms. In particular,the program code may be distributed using a computer-readable storagemedium having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causinga processor to carry out aspects of the embodiments of the invention.

Computer-readable storage media, which is inherently non-transitory, mayinclude volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removabletangible media implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer-readable storage media mayfurther include RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),flash memory or other solid state memory technology, portable compactdisc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store thedesired information and which can be read by a computer. Acomputer-readable storage medium should not be construed as transitorysignals per se (e.g., radio waves or other propagating electromagneticwaves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a transmission mediasuch as a waveguide, or electrical signals transmitted through a wire).Computer-readable program instructions may be downloaded to a computer,another type of programmable data processing apparatus, or anotherdevice from a computer-readable storage medium or to an externalcomputer or external storage device via a network.

Computer-readable program instructions stored in a computer-readablemedium may be used to direct a computer, other types of programmabledata processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions thatimplement the functions, acts, and/or operations specified in theflow-charts, sequence diagrams, and/or block diagrams. The computerprogram instructions may be provided to one or more processors of ageneral purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the one or more processors, cause aseries of computations to be performed to implement the functions, acts,and/or operations specified in the flow-charts, sequence diagrams,and/or block diagrams.

In certain alternative embodiments, the functions, acts, and/oroperations specified in the flow-charts, sequence diagrams, and/or blockdiagrams may be re-ordered, processed serially, and/or processedconcurrently consistent with embodiments of the invention. Moreover, anyof the flow-charts, sequence diagrams, and/or block diagrams may includemore or fewer blocks than those illustrated consistent with embodimentsof the invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodimentsof the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the”are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that theterms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Furthermore, to the extentthat the terms “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, “comprised of”, orvariants thereof are used in either the detailed description or theclaims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprising”.

While all of the invention has been illustrated by a description ofvarious embodiments and while these embodiments have been described inconsiderable detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant torestrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to suchdetail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear tothose skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects istherefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatusand method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly,departures may be made from such details without departing from thespirit or scope of the Applicant's general inventive concept.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic tag comprising: a near-fieldcommunication module configured to transmit a near-field beacon signalincluding a universally unique identifier.
 2. The electronic tag ofclaim 1 wherein the near field communication module transmits thenear-field beacon signal periodically, or in response to the electronictag receiving an interrogation signal.
 3. The electronic tag of claim 1wherein the near-field beacon signal uses one of an iBeacon compatibleprotocol or an Eddystone compatible protocol.
 4. The electronic tag ofclaim 1 further comprising: a photocell configured to provide power tothe electronic tag.
 5. The electronic tag of claim 1 further comprising:a wireless communication module configured to transmit and receivefar-field signals.
 6. The electronic tag of claim 5 further comprising:a memory coupled to the wireless communication module, wherein thefar-field signals include data, and at least a portion of the data isstored in the memory.
 7. The electronic tag of claim 6 wherein the dataincludes data relating to an interrogation event by a mobile device, andthe at least the portion of the data is transmitted from the electronictag to a database.
 8. The electronic tag of claim 5 wherein a locationof the electronic tag is determined using the far-field signals.
 9. Theelectronic tag of claim 5 wherein the far-field signals are Bluetooth orZigbee signals.
 10. The electronic tag of claim 1 wherein theuniversally unique identifier is associated with information in adatabase, and the information is related to a location of the electronictag.
 11. A method of providing location specific data to a mobiledevice, the method comprising: transmitting, from an electronic tag, anear-field beacon signal including a universally unique identifier. 12.The method of claim 11 wherein the near field beacon signal istransmitted periodically, or in response to the electronic tag receivingan interrogation signal.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein thenear-field beacon signal uses one of an iBeacon compatible protocol oran Eddystone compatible protocol.
 14. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising: transmitting and receiving far-field signals by theelectronic tag.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the far-field signalsinclude data, and further comprising: storing at least a portion of thedata in, or retrieving the at least the portion of the data from, amemory of the electronic tag.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein thedata includes data relating to an interrogation event by the mobiledevice, and further comprising: transmitting the at least the portion ofthe data from the electronic tag to a database.
 17. The method of claim14 further comprising: determining a location of the electronic tagusing the far-field signals.
 18. The method of claim 14 wherein thefar-field signals are Bluetooth or Zigbee signals.
 19. The method ofclaim 11 wherein the universally unique identifier is associated withinformation in a database, and the information is related to a locationof the electronic tag.
 20. A computer program product for providinglocation specific data to a mobile device, the computer program productcomprising: a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; andprogram code stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronictag, causes the electronic tag to: transmit a near-field beacon signalincluding a universally unique identifier.